Name: Terry Stobbart
Party affiliation (if any): NDP
Education: University education (not finished BA)
Occupation: Retired (volunteer)
Previous political experience: Ran in Abbotsford civic election in 2011, was Co Campaign and office Manager of BC NDP Candidate for Mission/Abbotsford, was office manager of Federal Candidate for NDP in Abbotsford in 2010
Residency (city/neighbourhood): Mission (total 8 years) Raised as a teen, came back as a parent of a teen two years ago, looking for a less stressful lifestyle.
Community involvement: Prior to Mission, very involved in Early Childhood and family literacy groups in Abbotsford. I have sat on boards in Abbotsford related to literacy and early learning. I have held positions in PACS and political boards in Abbotsford and Mission as President, Treasurer, and currently am Provincial Council Rep for local BCNDP. I advocate for less fortunate in Abbotsford and Mission, have attended several different groups to see where the best fit for me is. I am involved on social media in several groups, again fact finding for best fit. I see myself as a balanced person to sit on a council seat primarily because I can see it from many sides. I have also had experience with negotiations and union contracts from my experience with the Federal Government in management. I also have union experience with the Public Service of Canada where I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs before becoming a parent. As a parent of a cadet in the Mission Air Cadet program, I also volunteer with them and have great contact with the youth in our city. Personal life experiences where I have faced adversity many times and come out ahead, make me a good candidate for council. I am hearing impaired, and have some physical impairment but have never let that stop me from being involved in my community. As a single parent I have raised two children on less than poverty levels for over 20 years and that makes me very cautious with money. As I am retired, I do have the time to devote 100 percent to council work if elected. I am a hard, honest worker and would represent the voters well, because I believe that council needs a balanced group of individuals at the table, not just one demographic.
Marital status/children: Single parent of two girls, now adult and teen
Email: terrystobbart@gmail.com
Issues:
1. Safety. This is what I am hearing from people. They want safe sidewalks, safe walking at night, ability to feel safe in the community and an answer to the problems on 1st street that keep people from coming downtown, which leads me to the next priority.
2. Homelessness. This is a problem that not only our community faces but everywhere. We need to lobby more for Provincial assistance financially and build low barrier shelters that encourage people to seek resources that can help them up out of the awful situation they are in. Whether it mental health, or just finding ways to assist people to get off the street. We need to have compassion, yet a working plan to deal with this. Having rental units that are reasonably priced and easy to access is a huge factor. When you meet me, ask me why I am so passionate about this issue.
3. Taxes. We need to have a balanced view on taxes. I can't promise anything here, as I am only one vote, if elected, on a team of 7. We need to work together to bring a balanced tax proposal to the citizens that keeps it low, and funds our police(which in turn addresses our safety issue as well) firemen and maintenance of our services. So I don't believe in 0 taxes, but I do believe in keeping them low, and making sure we use our tax dollars wisely and responsibly. It is far more preferably to have regular low increases than to be hit with a large tax year because we have fallen behind in our resources.
I do believe we need to be a responsible governance for our city and use the tax dollars wisely, make sure we are getting the best bang for our buck, and represent all interests as best we can. We may not always be popular, but we will work hard for you as a team, once elected.